Photo: Bildbyrån
On weekdays, they are colleagues in the Swedish men’s national team.
Now Calle Halfvarsson reveals what nickname he gave William Poromaa when he broke through and had all eyes on him.
When William Poromaa23, broke through in the Swedish national team in 2020 Calle Halfvarsson35, already established since 11 years. Even then, the valley man was the most seasoned gentleman rower in Sweden, and it turns out that he was early in giving Poromaa nicknames that meant he had a lot to live up to.
Despite Calle picking up three World Cup relay medals over the years, and a total of 17 World Cup podiums, he has never quite reached his full potential. In SVT’s winter sports talk show Kallprat asks Johan Kücükaslan about why he has never really managed to maintain consistent top form.
– I have also thought about that. It’s clear that… I still think it’s about ignorance of training from a fairly young age – already when you start talking about the high school years there. When you enter the ski school. I have always been more ignorant of what I should do in training and what the sessions are for. I have always had the thought that I should just drive hard in training and then it will be fine, he says then.
READ MORE: Calle Halfvarsson’s difficult admission about his career
He admits that his coach did not always have it easy. Calle admits that he did not always listen to his coaches and that he often made his own decisions that did not benefit him.
– My coaches have been good, but I think they have torn their hair out with me. I guess I wasn’t really listening. I followed my own path and that path has sometimes gone right, and I think that if I had followed a different path, it might have gone better, he says.
Considering that Halfvarsson was not really able to perform at the level he wanted, Kücükaslan wonders if he found it difficult when the almost 15-year-younger William Poromaa broke through and was suddenly singled out as Sweden’s next big skiing star on the men’s side.
– You were a little offended when William Poromaa was nicknamed “The Savior”?, he asks.
– No, he answers briefly.
READ MORE: William Poromaa’s new take on Petter Northug’s WC chances
The SVT journalist wonders if Halfvarsson understood the question completely.
– You understand what I mean, right? You were already there, but then he would come and save men’s skiing, he says.
It turns out that Halfvarsson wasn’t at all annoyed by Poromaa’s nickname – in fact, he was the one who came up with it.
– I remember that it was I who said that he was the “Saviour”. So I’m certainly not disappointed by that. I want to remember that it was. I said that: “Maybe it will be the new savior,” he says.
How do you think it goes for William Poromaa and Calle Halfvarsson in the Tour de Ski and in the WC? Will there be any podiums and medals? Feel free to write a comment on Sportbibeln’s Facebook page.
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